Signal fault delays Avanti West Coast's Euston-Glasgow record attempt

A signal problem has delayed Avanti West Coast’s attempt to break the record for the fastest journey between London Euston and Glasgow Central.

The attempt, announced in January and part of the Railway 200 celebrations, was due to take place on Wednesday May 7.

However, an ongoing fault at Primrose Hill in Camden has affected two signals and reduced train speeds in the area. Given the fine margins, and temporary speed restriction would scupper the train's chances of breaking the record.

No date has been set for the fixing the fault, which is still being investigated, or the rescheduled record attempt.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “Succeeding in setting a new record comes down to a matter of seconds, so we’re working hard with signalling specialists to find a safe fix.”

The current record is 3 hours, 52 minutes, and 40 seconds set by an Advanced Passenger Train in 1984.

Avanti West Coast’s previous attempt in 2021 missed out by 21 seconds.